Realizing that companies were facing uncertainty from class action litigation, Mike Banigan, President of Financial Risk Services LLC (FRS), developed a revolutionary insurance product to mitigate the "financial cliff" often associated with class action settlements. By transferring the risk from the defendant to the insurer, this innovative insurance product helped companies offset more than $25 million of class action liability from their books in December.

With class action settlement insurance (CASI), the claims risk, ultimate cost and exposure are borne by the insurer in exchange for a single premium. The CASI product allows clients to settle class action litigation and enjoy certainty, finality and full risk transfer. Assume, for example, a company faces a potential liability of $100 million and in the settlement process negotiates a $50 million claims-made fund. While the take rate may not reach 100% or even come close, auditors and accountants often require the business to book the entire amount as a known or probable liability at the time of settlement. This may weigh down its balance sheet and burden the company's financial position for years.[1]

According to Banigan, this product allows companies to fix the cost and liability of settlement and focus on their core business mission.